>Brace yourself for a shocker— Beta no longer makes four- stroke off-road bikes. It’s
true. The Italian company has
discontinued its highly regarded,
even widely loved, RR line of four-stroke off-road bikes. And get this:
we don’t care. As of 2017 they have
been replaced by dual-sport bikes,
which are just as good—and capable
of getting a license plate in all 50
states. The 350RR-S we have here
is one of four models that will serve
both the dual-sport market and the
dirt-only crowd.

Beta isn’t alone. Both KTM andHusqvarna have done the samething for 2017, saying that therequirements for an EPA-certifiedoff-road bike have become sodemanding that the bikes mightas well be fully road certified.Meeting emission and noiseregulations for either category istough, and going a step further andadding lights, reflectors and DOTequipment is actually the easy part.Motocross bikes are exempt fromthese requirements because theyare imported as “closed-coursecompetition bikes,” and Betacontinues to offer its off-road two-strokes under those guidelines.